Faith As Strong as the Widow of Zarephath
In 1 Kings 17 we are presented with the story of the Widow of Zarephath. As I have read this with the King James English over my life, I missed much of the strong love and faith in this story. I did see the hand of our Savior in the outcome of the widow and the prophet. Maybe it is just me struggling with the old English, but in the KJV it feels a little cold. There are some touching elements here that I saw after slowing down with this one.
Let's review the story. Elijah had shut the heavens and caused a three-year drought which caused much hunger and suffering. Elijah meets a widow and asks her to make him some food. She only has enough flour to make one more cake for her and her son, at that point she assumes there will be no more to be found, and they will starve. Without rain or economic changes of some kind she will not be able to feed her son. I can only imagine the work, the begging, the searching for daily nourishment and water, that has already taken place over the last couple years. Her pot being empty is not just today, she must have been seeking, begging, and asking for help for a long time. None of which has gained her or her son any of the help or food they need. It has become so bad for them they have reached the point of knowing that the end must be near. It must have been horrible and frightening. That total loss of control and options, and her feeling powerless to help her own child feels unbearable.
Even with those feelings, and in her hunger, she gave her last bit of food to the prophet. I wondered why the Lord would instruct the prophet to do this. My mind wondered why Elijah wasn't more caring or observant. Why did the Lord have him ask this women for food, and why did Elijah not say "no" to what the Lord was asking? It must have been just as painful for him to follow through with these instructions from the Lord.
The way to find the answers to these questions is to always focus on the Savior when reading scripture. What others do is always less important that what the Savior does. It was a test of her faith. It was also at test of the prophet's faith. The Lord could feed both of them, but I believe He wanted them both to know of their own faith and their own willingness to follow the Lord and to better know of their love for Him.
Jesus himself spoke of this story in Luke 4. He speaks of sending his prophet to the ONE person he knew would help him. The Love and trust that the Lord and the widow had built up with each other was personal.
“But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; but unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Serepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow” (Luke 4:25–26)
This type of confidence and faith comes over time. Jesus lives now and he lived then, and he has asked us to follow him as well. Most of us do not need to give up our last meal, but that does not make following him easy. As we learn of him and as we grow in trusting Him, he grows in trusting us.
In 1 Kings 17:12, I now read her words not as a criticism of the prophet or of his request but as a plea for help. It brings this story closer to my heart. Here is a woman who is trying to feed her son and herself, she worries that they may starve soon, and yet she knew at this point that she would feed this stranger. Her righteousness would not end even for hunger. She pleads with the prophet and with God for help in this moment. Help to follow what she knew she needed to do. She was desperate, but still the Lord knew she would follow him. I think He wanted her to know that as well. She is rewarded for her faith with food that will not end until the drought is over. It was her faith, even in the toughest of all times that brought this gift from the Lord to her.
So how do we build that kind of faith ourselves? What steps should I be taking to have that type of personal relationship with Christ? Elder Ojediran gave me some insight when he connected section 1.2.1 of The General Handbook to ways we can use to come unto Christ. These things are broad, but if taken daily, they will increase our confidence in the Lord and His in us. Taking it from the first bullet point of that section the list is below.
Exercise faith in Christ.
Repent Daily.
Make and keep covenants with God as we receive the saving ordinances.
Endure to the end.
There is a virtuous cycle that happens if we allow it to. It all begins with exercising a small amount of faith. We learn from the Discourses on Faith that "it is faith, and faith only, which is the moving cause of all action . . . that without it, both mind and body would be in a state of inactivity, and all their exertions would cease, both physical and mental." If we can have a small amount of faith in Jesus Christ, we can move forward with this cycle.
Faith in our Savior can make subtle shifts in our relationship with God. That small movement helps us ask "what does God want for me today", and start to move away from the question of "what do I want today." That movement may be small at first but that small move to obedience to what God wants begins the process.
We also learn in a more personal way with this process that obedience to what God wants qualifies us to have His Spirit to be with us. As Larry S. Kacher put it in general conference in April 2022, "Obedience is no longer an irritant but becomes a quest. We recognize that obedience to God’s commands enables us to be trusted of Him. With His trust comes increased light. This light guides our journey and allows us to see more clearly the path we should take."
As we take that path, our Faith increases in God. Our relationship is built stronger with the Living God. We can build the faith of the Widow of Zarephath - step by step. As we see His hand in our lives our trust in him, and his in us grows. This starts the process and the over and over again each day we continue to grow.
